Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 159 Zhu Di: Is this a plot or is it for my own good? (The third update)

"What do you mean?" Zhu Di heard something wrong.

Yao Guangxiao strung the Buddhist beads in his hand onto his arm and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, Xia Zhibai now has evidence of your generals' corruption. Although it is not solid evidence, once these things fall into the hands of your Majesty or the Crown Prince, has your Highness considered the consequences?"

Zhu Di's face changed in shock.

Yao Guangxiao sighed and said, "Your Majesty hates evil and hates corrupt officials. If you knew that there was such serious corruption in the army, what do you think Your Majesty would do? He would definitely punish them severely. At that time, all the military officers involved would not only be in danger of their own lives, but also bring disaster to their three clans."

Zhu Di's eyes turned cold, and a cold light flashed across them.

He would never allow such a handle to exist.

It's too dangerous for him.

He himself was certainly not involved.

But if he fell into the hands of the prince, he didn't believe that the prince would not take the opportunity to clip his wings. Then he would become a commander without troops, with only command power but few generals loyal to him, and he would basically be sidelined.

He is a good brother.

He appears to be kind and righteous to the outside world, but when it comes to committing ruthless acts, he is equally ruthless.

He didn't want to be just a vassal king who obeyed orders in the future.

If he didn't want to fall to this point, he couldn't let Xia Zhibai continue to act recklessly. However, no one knew how much Xia Zhibai had in his hands, and no one knew what Xia Zhibai's intentions were. As for compromising with Xia Zhibai, Zhu Di was unwilling to do so.

He is the King of Yan of the Ming Dynasty.

How can we be controlled by others? How can we compromise with scholars?

He really can't afford to lose this person.

Thinking of this.

Zhu Di's murderous intent suddenly rose in his heart.

Seeing Zhu Di's sudden silence, Yao Guangxiao, who had known him for many years, saw through Zhu Di's thoughts at a glance. He said calmly, "Qiu Fu, Li Bin and other military officers don't want to give up the money, grain and land they have obtained. They are planning to kill Xia Zhibai and silence him."

Zhu Di closed his eyes slightly, and the murderous intent in his eyes disappeared.

He looked at Yao Guangxiao and asked, "Xia Zhibai can't be killed?"

Yao Guangxiao shook his head: "No."

"Why?" Zhu Di stared at Yao Guangxiao, demanding a clear answer from him.

Yao Guangxiao put his hands together, chanted "Good, good," and said, "Because I can't kill him. Killing him would do more harm than good to Your Highness. Killing him would not only save His Highness from the trouble, but it would also help to relieve his worries. However, this idea is self-deceptive."

"Xia Zhibai was sent by the imperial court."

"At present, I don't know how much it has to do with His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

“But there must be a connection.”

"Your Highness is the Prince of Yan, holding the military power in the north. In the past few years, Your Highness has been managing Peking and has won over many officials. It is obvious that the court has noticed this. Your Majesty took advantage of this opportunity to purge the court and purge those officials who were won over by Your Highness."

"If Your Highness took action at this time, what would His Majesty think?"

Zhu Di's face changed, and he said in a deep voice: "He must think that I have some unspeakable secret in Peking, otherwise he would not kill me so ruthlessly."

Yao Guangxiao nodded.

"The emperor is suspicious by nature. He only had suspicions before. If it is confirmed, how can Your Highness be in a good situation?"

"Your Highness is the fourth son of His Majesty. His Majesty will not kill You, but His Majesty can imprison You or transfer His Majesty's fiefdom."

"Even if His Majesty shows leniency and does not take action against Your Highness, and only allows Your Highness to make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence, Your Highness's crime can be forgiven, but the officials in Your Highness's palace will not be so lucky. All of them will be executed."

"Wait until the officials from the Peking Provincial Government arrive in the future."

"A new official has arrived to take over Xia Zhibai's unfinished work."

"Your Highness will then be left alone."

"Your Highness, can you accept it?"

Zhu Di shook his head.

The generals around him were promoted and won over by him with great difficulty. If all of them were executed, all his efforts over the years would be in vain.

He couldn't accept it.

Yao Guangxiao said: "No one can accept this situation."

"After this incident, His Majesty will monitor you more closely. It will be even more difficult for you to develop your own power. If nothing unexpected happens, your life will basically be like this."

"So Xia Zhibai cannot be killed."

"At least."

“I can’t die in Peking!”

Zhu Di was silent.

Although he was extremely annoyed, he nodded.

Xia Zhibai really couldn't die, at least not in Peking, otherwise it would have a huge impact on him.

The death of Xia Zhibai is nothing.

But if he had to sacrifice the power he had worked so hard to build up, he would never be able to accept that.

Xia Zhibai is not worth such a huge price.

"Then what do you want me to do? Just let Xia Zhibai control me?" Zhu Di said coldly.

Yao Guangxiao shook his head and said with a smile: "Your Highness is a daughter of a rich family, how can you be controlled by others? Moreover, Your Highness has suffered an unexpected disaster, how can you allow others to take advantage of you? This is also where Xia Zhibai is smart."

“He always leaves room for maneuver.”

"The leeway he gave was for the salt merchants to pass on the message."

"Let the military officers who participated in the oppression of the local people give up the land they have occupied."

"From the beginning to the end, he only remained at the level of a military officer."

"I never thought of pulling His Highness down."

"What Your Highness really needs to do is to cooperate with Xia Zhibai."

"kill!"

"Kill? Kill whom?" Zhu Di was suspicious.

"Kill those military officers who violate military discipline and oppress ordinary military households, kill those tyrants who abuse their power to bully the people, kill those corrupt officials who know the truth but do not report it and are in collusion with the evil. However, this killing is selective, catching the big ones and letting the small ones go, killing the chicken to scare the monkeys." Yao Guangxiao started to coil up his Buddhist beads again without knowing when.

Zhu Di was even more confused.

Yao Guangxiao smiled and said, "Your Highness must turn the passive situation into the active one."

"Take the initiative to expose these dirty tricks, and then use thundering means to severely punish these evildoers, and then report to the court to show your integrity and compassion for the people. Your Highness kills people, not for Xia Zhibai to see, but for His Majesty and the Crown Prince to see."

"This way."

"Even if Xia Zhibai tells on you in the future."

"The court came down to investigate, but couldn't find anything."

"Because His Highness has dealt with everything."

"Isn't that just a loss of eight hundred people? Those who died are all my people." Zhu Di was a little dissatisfied. After all, it was still a matter of killing each other.

Yao Guangxiao sneered, a hint of viciousness flashed in his eyes, and said, "It's different."

"What's the difference?" Zhu Di frowned.

Yao Guangxiao smiled and said, "The most important way for a monarch to control his subordinates is to use both kindness and power."

"The power is naturally to kill people."

"But you must show mercy while killing people." "And this 'mercy' should naturally be shown to the officials close to Your Highness. Wouldn't this kind of kindness and power make these generals more grateful to Your Highness and more loyal to him?"

"Using the deaths of dozens or even hundreds of people in exchange for the loyalty of generals like Qiu Fu, this deal is a good deal."

“And the benefits go far beyond that.”

"Killing people can not only correct military discipline, but also win the hearts of the people. After all, many soldiers in the army have been too domineering in recent years, which has affected your highness's reputation in Peking."

"Killing him will help restore your highness's reputation."

"Moreover, by killing dozens of middle and lower-level military officers, we will not only win the loyalty of the upper-level generals, but also the support of the majority of the lower-level military households. The morale of the three guards under your highness will also be greatly improved to a certain extent, and their combat effectiveness will even increase rather than decrease."

Zhu Di touched his chin and looked suddenly enlightened.

This is indeed possible.

Zhu Di was actually a little annoyed with those who did bad things under his name, otherwise he would not have sent people to investigate.

It would be a good idea to clean up the pests in the army.

Yao Guangxiao continued: "Besides that, this is also an explanation to the court."

"What do you mean?" Zhu Di looked curious.

Yao Guangxiao smiled and said, "Some time ago, something happened in Beiping because His Majesty was dissatisfied with Your Highness's efforts to win over officials from the Beiping Provincial Government. Your Highness is now purging the army to show his position to the court. Your Highness was unaware of some things happening in Beiping and has been kept in the dark. Otherwise, how could Your Highness not know about the corruption in the army? How could he be so angry after knowing it?"

“This is also a way of hiding one’s incompetence and showing weakness.”

“The trees are beautiful in the forest, but the wind will destroy them.”

"Your Highness has been too strong and upright in the past. His ambition and dissatisfaction are almost always on his face. How could this not cause concern among some officials in the court?"

"Your Highness is now showing weakness and cowardice, which is also a way to protect yourself."

"Let the court relax its vigilance."

Zhu Di nodded.

In fact, he has always been afraid of his father.

There were also many military generals in the court who were not on good terms with him, and Lan Yu was the first to suffer.

Relying on the fact that he was the prince's brother-in-law, he did not take him seriously at all. He also repeatedly sowed discord between him and the prince, hoping that the court would reduce his military power.

He knew all this.

If it weren't for the instigation of these people in the court, he didn't believe that Peking would have suffered this disaster.

But the situation is stronger than the person, and he has to bow his head when it is time. Now he dare not reveal his ambition at all. If the prince is really dissatisfied, with the prince's current power, he is afraid that he will be suppressed to death.

After what happened in Peking, Zhu Di had already understood it.

My father did not completely trust me.

There has been secret surveillance.

Zhu Di asked, "Is there nothing you can do about Xia Zhibai?"

Yao Guangxiao shook his head helplessly and said, "There really is no good way. He came almost alone, and now we can't target him directly. We can only wait until the ironworks or salt factory are opened to check and balance him, but it doesn't have much practical significance."

"Although Your Highness was plotted against, overall, Your Highness still benefited."

"It's just a little bit frustrating and passive in comparison."

Zhu Di's face darkened.

Is this a bit frustrating and passive?

It's clear that he is being led by Xia Zhibai.

He even had reason to believe that if he were not a vassal king, Xia Zhibai would not dare to take advantage of him.

Zhu Di took a deep breath, suppressed his displeasure, pondered for a moment, and said, "Is it really feasible to only deal with the middle and lower-level military officers?"

Yao Guangxiao hesitated for a moment and said, "Hold high and let go lightly. Based on the current investigation, Qiu Fu, Li Bin and others are still somewhat vigilant. They did not take the initiative to deal with it, but used their brothers-in-law, father-in-law and other relatives to intervene. Your Highness will give them a warning and deal with those who are deeply involved."

"And by the way, we should rectify the military style and discipline."

Zhu Di nodded.

He would have rectified it without Yao Guangxiao's reminder.

He didn't keep an eye on it all the time, and military discipline has become so corrupt. If it's not rectified, what will happen in the future?
immediately.

Zhu Di's eyes turned cold and he said, "What should we do with those beggars?"

"How about killing them all?"

A hint of viciousness flashed in Zhu Di's eyes.

He had never been kind to these beggars, and now that they almost harmed him, his impression of beggars became even worse. Moreover, the existence of these beggars exposed a huge hidden danger and loophole in his control over Peking, and he felt uneasy.

He now had only one thought in his mind.

killed!
Only the dead are the safest.

Yao Guangxiao was somewhat tempted, but finally shook his head.

Yao Guangxiao clasped his hands together and bowed, saying, "No, beggars from other dynasties can be killed, but beggars from the Ming Dynasty cannot be killed, because the people of the world have been reduced to beggars. If Your Highness kills beggars, it will only make His Majesty hate him."

Zhu Di smiled awkwardly.

He was so angry and confused that he almost forgot about it.

That beggar cannot be killed.

If he were to be killed, I'm afraid the soles of my father's shoes would fly over from Kyoto.

"Then let them stay in the city forever? Let them serve as Xia Zhibai's eyes and ears? Then won't Xia Zhibai know everything I do in the future?" Zhu Di was a little annoyed. He couldn't kill these beggars, and there was not enough food in Peking to provide relief.

What's more, people have been fleeing from the north.

Can it be saved?
Yao Guangxiao recited a few Buddhist scriptures and said hesitantly, "I'm afraid we can only ask Xia Zhibai for help. The person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. Your Highness has already made so many concessions for Xia Zhibai. If Xia Zhibai still pesters me, then Your Highness should get angry."

Zhu Di snorted coldly.

When Xia Zhibai was mentioned, he became furious.

After Xia Zhibai came, nothing has ever gone smoothly for him. In the beginning, he was targeted by words, and later he fell directly into Xia Zhibai's schemes. Now he is still under the control of others. All these grievances made Zhu Di feel like a thorn in his throat.

If he could, he would chop Xia Zhibai to pieces on the spot.

Otherwise it will be difficult to relieve the hatred in my heart.

Yao Guangxiao lowered his head and recited Buddhist scriptures, then said: "Your Highness can invite Xia Zhibai over and have a good talk about this, or tell Xia Zhibai directly that from now on, any news Xia Zhibai finds out in Beiping must be reviewed by Your Highness."

"This is what Xia Zhibai promised before."

Zhu Di frowned.

Finally he nodded.

"Okay, I'll do as you say." Zhu Di pondered for a moment, then said, "It's been so long, it's time for you to sort out what you found and hand it over. I want to see what dirty things these soldiers under my command have done behind my back."

Yao Guangxiao nodded.

Zhu Di walked a few steps in the room and snorted coldly, "When you leave later, tell Qiu Fu and the others to stop acting rashly and stop making mistakes. Finally, compile a detailed list. It's time to clean up the army."

"Otherwise they would have almost forgotten that the Ming Dynasty still has military laws."

Zhu Di stood tall.

He took the goose-wing knife back into his hand.

Only by touching this slightly cool weapon could his restless heart find a moment of peace.

(End of this chapter)